Nikon Z7 II vs Nikon D850

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon Z7 II and the Nikon D850, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Nikon Z7 II was introduced in October 2020 and Nikon D850 was introduced in August 2017. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon Z7 II over Nikon D850.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon D850 over Nikon Z7 II.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Nikon Z7 II and Nikon D850 have 3.2" Tilting screens with 2,100k dot and 2,359k dot resolutions respectively. Tilting screen makes cameras very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Both models feature touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Nikon Z7 II has a built-in 0.5" Electronic viewfinder with 3,690k dot resolution and Nikon D850 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. They both have 100% coverage.

BSI-CMOS Sensor

Both models feature a 45.7 megapixel Full Frame BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 23.9 mm and a total area of 858 mm². Their native ISO range is 64 - 25,600 and expands to 32 - 102,400 in boosted mode.

The cameras have BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Nikon Z7 II is equipped with Dual EXPEED 6 processor and can take pictures up to 8256 x 5504 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 5408 x 3600 (DX crop), 6880 x 5504 (5:4), 5504 x 5504 (1:1), 8256 x 4640 (16:9) with 1:1, 5:4, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Nikon D850 is equipped with EXPEED 5 processor and can take pictures up to 8256 x 5504 resolution.

Lens Mount

Nikon Z7 II has Nikon Z lens mount and Nikon D850 has Nikon F lens mount. Due to their Full Frame sensor their crop factor (also called lens multiplier) is equal to 1x. This means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length.

No Low-Pass Filter

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on either of the cameras. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Nikon Z7 II

Nikon Z7 II has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 5 stops of compensation. This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Cameras have built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5 802.11ac/b/g/n 2.4/5 GHz on Nikon Z7 II, 802.11b/g 2.4 GHz on Nikon D850) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth

Nikon Z7 II and Nikon D850 have built-in Bluetooth (version 4.1 LE on Nikon D850) which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

NFC on Nikon D850

Nikon D850 has Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which simplifies the process of pairing it with other NFC-enabled devices like smartphones or tablets. It allows to quickly transfer photos and videos or remotely control the camera from compatible device. NFC can also be used for authentication and security purposes. It can verify your identity before accessing certain features or transferring sensitive data. It can be used with NFC-enabled accessories as well, such as lenses, flashes and GPS devices.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 (5 GBit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Nikon Z7 II has a Mini HDMI and Nikon D850 has a Mini HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon Z7 II comes with EN-EL15c battery pack with battery life of 420 shots and Nikon D850 comes with EN-EL15a battery pack with battery life of 1840 shots.

External Storage Slots

Nikon Z7 II has two card slots - one for CFexpress Type B / XQD and one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II). Nikon D850 has two card slots - one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) and one for CFexpress Type B / XQD.

Shutter

Nikon Z7 II and Nikon D850 have Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane. shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Nikon Z7 II, and up to 1/8000 sec on Nikon D850. Nikon Z7 II can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps. Nikon D850 can shoot continuously up to 7.0 fps.

Focusing

Nikon Z7 II has Hybrid phase-detection/contrast AF system with 493 focusing points and Nikon D850 has 153 (99 cross-type) focusing points. Nikon Z7 II has detection range from -4 to +19 EV and Nikon D850 has detection range from -4 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon Z7 II and Nikon D850 range from -3 to +17 EV and -3 to +20 EV respectively and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Nikon Z7 II and ±5 EV range on Nikon D850. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon Z7 II and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon D850.

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Hot Shoe to Nikon Z7 II and via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal to Nikon D850. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Nikon Z7 II and 1/250 sec on Nikon D850.

Nikon Z7 II body has dimensions of 134 x 101 x 70 mm (5.28 x 3.98 x 2.76") and Nikon D850 body has dimensions of 146 x 124 x 79 mm (5.75 x 4.88 x 3.11"). Nikon Z7 II weighs 705 g (1.55 lb / 24.87 oz) and Nikon D850 weighs 1005 g (2.22 lb / 35.45 oz).

Nikon Z7 II

Nikon D850

134 mm

101 mm

146 mm

124 mm

101 mm

124 mm

70 mm

79 mm